Live From SXSW: Maps & Atlases - "Remote and Dark Years"

Chicago’s Maps & Atlases stirred up plenty of buzz in 2006 with their debut EP, Tree, Swallows, Houses which featured a new, fast-fingered approach to guitar rock in indie music. Since then, the band released another excellent EP, 2008’s You and Me and the Mountain, signed to Barsuk records and completely refined their sound. While flashy guitars and odd time signatures still had a place on their Barsuk debut, 2010’s Perch Patchwork, the band focused more on building complex, folk-rooted songs than on finger-blistering guitar parts. The band is set to take those songs a step further with their latest follow-up LP, Beware and Be Grateful.